Lowder gets 3-year contract extension by 4-3 vote

STOCKTON - By the same narrow margin that won him the job seven months ago, Superintendent Steve Lowder received a contract extension, a raise and more job security at Tuesday night's Stockton Unified school board meeting.

STOCKTON - By the same narrow margin that won him the job seven months ago, Superintendent Steve Lowder received a contract extension, a raise and more job security at Tuesday night's Stockton Unified school board meeting.

The board voted 4-3 to increase Lowder's salary from $225,000 to $230,000. His contract now runs through 2016-17, not 2013-14. And if the board decides to remove him from office early, it will have to pay him 12 months' worth of salary, not six.

The no votes on the reworked contract came from Sara Cazares, David Varela and Colleen Keenan, who joined the board just last month. Last year, Cazares, Varela and former board member Jose Morales voted against the hiring of Lowder, 61.

"We did what we had to do," board President Gloria Allen said of the changes to Lowder's contract. "We need to move the district forward. We're on a roll."

Varela and Cazares both expressed reservations about the lengthening of Lowder's buyout, as well as the number of years added to his contract.

"I do think he has tried to move us forward in terms of achievement and school site progress," Cazares said. "I'm really just fiscally concerned. ... I voted the way I did simply because I'm concerned about the budget."

It was Lowder who asked for the three-year contract extension through 2016-17, along with the $5,000-a-year bump in pay, which gives him the same salary as predecessor Carl Toliver, who retired last year.

The superintendent said he asked for the extension because he believes Stockton Unified will benefit from long-term stability in its top administrative position. When Lowder took charge in June, it marked the district's sixth change of leadership in a span of less than seven years.

"From my perspective, it's about projecting stability and longevity of leadership," Lowder said. "To me, it's really important. This is the foundation piece. This is so important. If we're in flux, worried if that person is going to be here, you don't know if you should buy into some of those initiatives."

Only one speaker from the community weighed in on Lowder's extension request before the board voted.

"I'm very concerned," said Chuck Walker Sr., 67, who identified himself as a retired Stockton Unified senior computer operator. "Seven months into a contract, a person asks for a contract extension and a raise. I know the (classified workers), they have a six-month probationary period where they can be let go for any reason."

Allen said one of Lowder's biggest strengths has been his ability to establish calmer relations with the unions that represent Stockton Unified's workers.

"I like the fact he works well with unions," Allen said. "He's gotten some issues settled with them. Now we're working together."